Featured Instruments

Discovery Orchestra Chat 115 – A Very Special Melody Part 2

The orchestral version of Pelleas et Melisande is used to illustrate Gabriel Faure’s lilting Sicilienne rhythm – listen for the prominence of the harp and flute in this Chat! Watch…

Read More

Discovery Orchestra Chat 113 – Holiday Meters Part 2

The hunt continues! Find the underlying pulse, or beat, in a piece of music. Maestro Maull uses Handel’s Pifa (Pastorale) from Messiah to illustrate. Watch and listen to Chat 112,…

Read More

Discovery Orchestra Chat 111 – A Very Special Melody

A composer will sometimes create a melody that is so beautiful, so haunting, that it just stands out as one of the best melodies ever. This was the case when…

Read More

Discovery Orchestra Chat 110 – Another Effective Surprise

All surprises in life feel the way they do because of the unexpected aspect of the surprise. Composers can create “musical surprises” – see how in this Chat featuring pianist…

Read More

Discovery Orchestra Chat 109 – Follow that Subject

A fugue’s main melody is called its “subject”. Maestro Maull explores different subjects using Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 performed by The Discovery Orchestra and Bach’s Unaccompanied Sonata No. 1…

Read More

Discovery Orchestra Chat 108 – The Land of 6th’s and Octaves

When composers want to add harmony to a melody, there are a number of ways they can do it. Learn more in this Discovery Orchestra Chat, featuring high-school musicians Katie…

Read More

You are like the music teacher I never had! I devour your lessons. Thank you! {Refering to chat video Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo & Juliet Overture-Fantasy”, Part 1}

— Jethro Gómez Rodriguez, Australia